MELBOURNE, Fla. – A man fled after he shot at a father and son then struck a school bus with his car Monday morning, according to the Melbourne Police Department.
Records show the father and son were in a parking lot on Hickory Street around 6:50 a.m. waiting for the boy’s school bus when Stephen Dukeman backed into a car.
Recommended Videos
[TRENDING: What ingredients make a vaccine? | Air show plane on move after landing in ocean | DeSantis signs ‘anti-riot’ bill into law]
Police said the adult victim yelled at Dukeman, asking him if he hit the car and Dukeman replied, “(Expletive) you. Do you have a problem?”
Dukeman is then accused of shooting a black 9 mm pistol at the father-son duo, although neither was struck. The father told officers he was afraid Dukeman was going to kill him and his son.
A school bus driver said she heard the shooting then saw a gray four-door vehicle leave the parking lot, make a right turn and hit the bus, according to the affidavit. The report didn’t mention whether any children were on board at the time.
Dukeman left the area but minutes later, at about 6:55 a.m., someone called authorities to report a reckless driver in a gray 2021 Kia without its headlights on, records show.
While they were at the parking lot on Hickory Street, a woman approached officers and said she knew Dukeman and he had recently pointed a gun at her during a domestic argument, so she waited until he passed out from taking Xanax and then she fled the home with her two young children, the report said.
She believed Dukeman came to Hickory Street looking for her since she has a friend who lives nearby.
Police said they went to that woman’s mother’s home on Grove Lane and immediately spotted the 2021 Kia in the driveway. Records show the woman answered the door and said Dukeman was inside and had confessed to shooting at the family and hitting the school bus.
He told her he didn’t want to go back to prison since he has five felony convictions and his license was revoked in 2018, according to the affidavit.
Dukeman initially refused to come out of the home but officers eventually convinced him to surrender, the report said.
Police said they found a black 9mm gun behind the couch where Dukeman had been sitting.
He was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, operating a motor vehicle with a revoked license, leaving the scene of a crash, reckless driving and resisting arrest without violence.
Use the form below to sign up for the ClickOrlando.com Strange Florida newsletter, sent every Friday.